Hong Kong variety show: I wanted to be a lawyer, but I became a big shot.

The soup restaurant is located in a small alley in Gangnam District. The signboard is old, but there are several cars parked in front, so it's clear that the business is not bad.

Li Zicheng pushed open the door and went in. Ding Qing was already sitting in the corner booth.

He was wearing a black suit, and there was a steaming bowl of soup in front of him, but he didn't touch it much.

Next to him sat a man Li Zicheng didn't recognize. He was lean, had a buzz cut, cold eyes, and a bulge at his waist, as if he were carrying something.

This man is Wang Jianjun, the head of security in Linbei.

Lee Ja-sung felt a slight stirring in his heart, but he didn't show it and sat down opposite Kim In-seo.

"Brother, what's up, calling me out so early?"

Ding Qing looked up at him, then at Jin Renrui, and smiled.

"You're here, let's eat first and chat while we eat."

He waved to the shopkeeper and ordered two more bowls of soup and rice, and a pancake.

Kim In-seo thanked him politely and picked up a spoon to eat in small bites.

"Thank you, boss."

Li Zicheng did not touch his chopsticks.

He looked at Ding Qing and felt that Ding Qing was different from usual today.

Although I was still laughing, the atmosphere felt a bit eerie.

"Brother, just say what's on your mind."

Ding Qing put down her chopsticks, picked up a tissue, and slowly wiped her hands.

"Zicheng, how many years have we brothers been working together?"

"Five years..."

"Yes, it's been five years already...."

Ding Qing repeated the number, a hint of nostalgia on his face.

Five years is not a short time.

"I remember when you first came here, you were as skinny as a bamboo pole, and you couldn't even fight."

"I taught you step by step..."

Li Zicheng's heart sank. Although he didn't know why Ding Qing would say those words, he was sure something had happened.

Could it be that my undercover identity has been exposed?

Just as he was in a state of utter confusion, Ding Qing's voice continued to come.

"I came to South Korea with my parents when I was young. Whether I was going to school or struggling in society, I was bullied by the locals and betrayed by my own people."

"Until one day, I had enough of living this pathetic life. I, Ding Qing, swore that I would never let anyone shit or piss on my head again!"

"So I started from the bottom as a lowly errand boy for a gang and climbed step by step to where I am today."

Do you know what I'm most afraid of?

He looked up and met Li Zicheng's eyes.

"What I fear most is not having a single person I can trust around me."

The soup shop was noisy; some people were talking loudly on their phones, while others were urging the owner to add more soup.

But Li Zicheng felt the surrounding sounds getting farther and farther away, his head was spinning, and his ears were ringing.

Kim In-seo also sensed that something was wrong. She stopped eating and looked at Lee Ja-sung uneasily.

The lean man next to Ding Qing remained silent throughout, simply sitting quietly.

Lee Ja-sung swallowed hard, making a sound with difficulty.

"Brother... what exactly are you trying to say?"

Ding Qing took a brown paper envelope from inside his jacket, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

"Open it and take a look."

Lee Ja-sung took the envelope and pulled out the contents.

It was a stack of photos and a few pages of photocopied documents.

The first photo is of Li Xinyu at the entrance of the Go club, the second photo is of his back as he walked into the Go club yesterday afternoon, and the third photo is a screenshot from CCTV footage of Li Xinyu appearing in the lobby of the Jiangnan Business Hotel last night.

The document following was a communication log, which detailed the time and place of every meeting between him and Li Xinyu, down to the minute.

Li Zicheng's hands trembled slightly, but he did not panic.

He put the item back in the envelope and placed it on the table.

"Brother, let me explain."

"Explain what?"

Ding Qing's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Explain why you go to the Go club to give a report every few days?"

"Explain why you always choose times when no one is around when you meet with Li Xinyu?"

"Explain why you've been leaking my whereabouts, the time and location of each transaction, and the contents of internal group meetings bit by bit?"

Kim In-seo's face turned pale. She grabbed Lee Ja-sung's arm, her voice trembling.

"Zicheng, what is Ding Qingge saying?"

Li Zicheng didn't look at her.

He wanted to say something, but found that all explanations were pale and powerless in the face of evidence.

"Five years!"

Ding Qing repeated the number, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Do you know how I've spent these past five years?"

"I paid for your wedding banquet, I helped you find a hospital when your family members were sick, and I lent you money without hesitation when you were short of funds to buy a house."

Look me in the eyes and tell me!

"In these past five years, has there ever been a single day when you truly treated me like a brother?"

Li Zicheng lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

"Brother, I'm sorry."

"sorry?"

"Hehehe!"

Ding Qing laughed, a laugh that sounded particularly jarring in the early morning soup restaurant.

"You're a police officer, right?"

Kim In-seo suddenly turned to look at Ding Qing, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Lee Ja-sung did not deny it.

He simply raised his head, looked at Ding Qing, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Brother, I really am a police officer."

"But I never intended to harm you."

Ding Qing looked at him with a complicated expression.

Anger, disappointment, and a hollow exhaustion. He picked up his spoon and stirred the now-cold soup and rice in his bowl, suddenly feeling no appetite at all.

Let's go!

"This breakfast is on me. We don't need to see each other again."

He stood up, took a few bills out of his pocket, placed them on the table, and turned to walk towards the door.

When Wang Jianjun stood up, he took an envelope out of his pocket and placed it in front of Li Zicheng.

"This is a gift from Mr. Lin Bei to you."

"Wait until you and your spouse are in a secluded place before you look at it."

"Furthermore, Kim In-seo, your father is dead. Don't harbor any illusions about Section Chief Kang!"

These words struck Lee Ja-sung and Kim In-seo like a bolt from the blue, leaving them sitting motionless in their booths.

Kim In-seo's hand slid off his arm, and she looked at his profile, her lips moving slightly.

"Brother Zicheng, Brother Zicheng, let me explain!"

Lee Ja-sung turned his head, looking at his wife, who was both familiar and unfamiliar, with a complicated expression, feeling an overwhelming sense of absurdity for the first time.

Seeing the disappointment in her husband's eyes, and hearing Wang Jianjun say that her father was dead, Jin Renrui burst into tears. She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.

……

Ten minutes later, Li Zicheng sat in the driver's seat, one hand gripping the steering wheel and the other tightly holding the envelope.

Kim In-seo sat in the passenger seat, head down, his hands gripping the bag straps on his knees tightly.

The atmosphere inside the car was incredibly heavy, making it almost impossible to breathe.

After a long time, Li Zicheng finally picked up the envelope, tore open the seal, and took out the contents.